Indian Railways allows booking 5 mins prior to departure from Oct 10. Here's all you need to know

From October 10, the railway seats will be available 5 minutes before the train leaves the station, as the Indian Railways has decided to restore the pre-COVID system of preparing the second reservation chart half an hour before the departure time.

However, in the wake of the pandemic, regular passenger train services will remain suspended as of now. But the Indian Railway is trying to restore the pre-COVID practices and is also running special trains.

Here are the things you need to know regarding the new changes:

1. The reservations of the second charts will be prepared 30minutes ahead of the scheduled departure trains from the station. This was although usual before COVID, but when special passenger trains started, the Indian Railways prepared the second reservation chart 2 hours before the scheduled departure.

2. Passengers can book their tickets until the second reservation chart is prepared. Starting from October 10, these charts will be ready between 30 minutes to 5 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure and tickets can be booked during this time.

3. The first chart is prepared at least four hours before the scheduled departure of the train. Vacant seats owing to cancellation can be booked through PRS counters and online till the second chart is ready.

4.  Tickets can also be canceled during this time, as per the provisions of the refund rules.

5. During the pandemic, the timings were changed as initially, tickets were available online. The Railways was avoiding crowding at the situation and its aim was to discourage people from traveling unnecessarily.

6. As the situation has changed in the last few months, the Centre is focussing on reopening instead of locking down. And the Railways has started several new trains and with the festive season coming, the Railways has already announced 39 pairs of the new special train. Although it has not yet announced a date for the special trains they will be operational between October 15 and November 30.

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